My Other Blog

Intarweb Thingies

Pics

Links

Nationwide crazy spree

* Quite possibly the strangest news article on a desi I've seen. A car rented in Florida, chemicals pilfered in Kansas, and a car accident cover-up attempt in Nebraska - the mystery deepens.
Authorities don't think the incident was connected to terrorist or criminal acts, Tarpinian said.Great. Just what we've been needing.

* Janet is a friend of mine from Kansas. Apart from possibly holding the largest private multiethnic dinners in Lawrence, she is also a sinophile and world traveler. She is now in Azerbaijan as part of an English teaching program. Here's the first entry of her Azerbaijani blog. I hope more will be forthcoming soon.

Fortress of Stupitude

Anti and Nilu vent about 'a major filmmaker'. Having never seen any HR film, except for the one with him and Shah Rukh Khan (... the one with the name made up by randomly stringing 5 words together, just like every other Hindi movie), I'm still pretty sure HR didn't deserve the award.

And just to prove that South Indians are right about Hindi phillums, here's a review of Superman - the desi version. For additional side-splittery, don't forget to view the gallery and otherreviews.

Beautiful Agony

* Finally, an urban myth has been proven true! Thanks to the diligent efforts/pure luck of my room-mate, we got to hear our neighbour 'getting it on' with some chick. I had kept hearing about about this traditionally American act of voyeurism but had had no luck with it. I was beginning to think either my apartments had really thick walls, or Kansas had more celibates than the Vatican. All my doubts were smashed today when we, ermm, listened in on the feminine groans and moans emanating from across the walls!

* My interest in Cycling is merely limited to keeping tab of the number of times Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France. Watching the 'Triplets of belleville' got me curious about the kind of monotony cycling involves and the perseverance required to cycle for days on end. Given the abundance of really long trails near my apartment, I've had the chance to test my own skills at cycling, and it amazes me the Tour de Francer's can do it for days when my own bad knee threatens to leave its cosy confines after just two hours of riding.

It looks like there's more than just stamina and concentration involved. I came across kottke's post on Lance's tactics during the 18th stage of the rally. The pictures describe what's happening very well. Looks like there's more brain-work involved than just keeping yourself focussed on pushing the pedals. I had a similar awakening when I started following F-1 racing in India, and found out that it wasn't just people driving cars real fast.

Meeting People is Easy

Last week was an experiment in social skills. Based on gentle prodding from some friends and downright sympathetic looks from acquaintances, I decided to try this 'going out and having fun' thing.

I travelled to Manhattan, KS on business and did everything but business. Fine upscale dining? Check. Karaoke in an empty bar? Check. Shaking my proverbial tail-feathers and managing to look like a Hare Krishna having an epileptic attack? Check. Driving back to the motel incredibly slowly, because, 'alcohol, like, slows your reflexes, man...'? Check.

Later that week my room-mate and I went to the Royals game in Kansas City. There I was introduced to the fine art of tailgating by an ex-fratperson. One hour and several lite beers later, I found myself talking 3 times more than I usually do.

Conclusions: I probably met more new people in a week than I do in a year. Making conversation is not difficult, especially if there's a bit of the social lubricant involved. Hmm, if only I could repeat my performance without the benefit of bitter hops...

String Theory

A centuries-old spiritual tool used by Kabbalists, this red string is believed to protect against the evil eye, a negative energy source. What makes this particular piece of string so special is, in part, the fact that it has traveled to Israel, to the ancient tomb of Rachel the Matriarch, and returned, imbued with the essence of protection.

Riiiiggght. It probably made a short visit to the red-dye vat in a factory in Xinjuan, China.